Achraf Yacoubou didn’t see much playing time as a freshman at American Christian Academy, but it was a season that shaped him as a basketball player. Every day in practice, the Bronx native went up against a nationally ranked guard, be it Lamont (Momo) Jones, Jeremiah Kelly or Tyreke Evans. Comment.

Jets 17 Chargers 14 Comment.

South Bronx inched closer to its second straight Bronx A East title Thursday night in typical fashion: by outscoring the opposition in what was the basketball version of a track meet. Dashawn Joyner scored 33 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out nine assists, leading the Phoenix to a 102-95 victory over Smith. Comment.

With the game up for grabs, Michael Alvarado had the ball in his hands following a mad scramble. There’s no one else All Hallows coach John Carey would want with the basketball in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter and the Manhattan-bound senior guard made the perfect decision. Comment.

If Jose Rodriguez wasn’t sure he made the right decision by leaving St. Raymond for Impact Basketball Academy and Trinity International HS in Las Vegas, he was convinced one day in late August. Comment.

The trip took much longer than planned, but when Angel Nunez finally stepped onto the court at Baruch College Saturday, the Harlem native looked vastly different than he did when he played his final game at Cardinal Hayes last year. Comment.

Jeffrey Short was preparing to reprise his role as John F. Kennedy’s leading scorer, rebounder, top defender and playmaker Friday afternoon when he saw an old familiar face in a red jersey and shorts. Comment.

Anxiety quickly turned to joy for Chelsea Custodio. Comment.

Christopher Columbus H.S. staff responds to Deputy Chancellor Interim Acting’s closing explanation Comment.

In light of the tragedy in Haiti, many people in the Bronx community are donating their time, money, and energy to aid Haiti in this aftermath of the earth-quake that shattered their country. The many academic departments and after-school clubs at Preston High School are joining forces to raise money to send to Haiti as well as collecting notes of prayer and strength. Compassion Connection, the service club at Preston, is foregoing their weekly Food Fest Friday where they collect money for the local community and they will collect for Haiti instead. Comment.

The Sr. Mary Ellen Bernard Chapter of the National English Honor Society of Preston High School welcomed 16 new members into the organization at an induction ceremony on January 12th. This chapter was the first of its kind in the Bronx when it was formed four years ago and is one of only 25 chapters in the state of New York. Comment.

On Wednesday, January 20, Hazel Miura, of Neighborhood Initiative Development Corporation, along with volunteers from the newly formed Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance, set up a table outside of the Van Nest Post Office to collect signatures and education people on the issue. Comment.

In order to keep isolated Spencer Estate and Country linked to the transit grid, the MTA has proposed a reroute of the Bx8 from Crosby Avenue to Stadium Avenue. The Bx5 would jump from Bruckner Boulevard to Crosby Avenue to replace the Bx8. Comment.

Shhhhh!An increase in noisy teens in and around the Morris Park Public Library is upsetting its patrons and neighbors. Comment.

A 12-year-old M.S. 101 student has taken the initiative to raise hundreds of dollars for Haitian earthquake victims. Comment.

The New York Yankees celebrated a handful of exceptional teens on Tuesday, January 19 at a Community Board 10 youth committee meeting. Five super students dedicated to the community accepted $500 Yankee Youth Leadership Awards. Comment.

Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical High School senior Jordan Lopez was happy to hear that the Department of Education won’t phase out Smith’s successful auto program. Comment.

Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. set a tone in December when he demanded that mega-developer The Related Companies pay living wages at the Kingsbridge Armory. Two months later, Diaz is poised set a development agenda. Comment.

Hide your pooches. Neighbors witnessed an apparent puppy-napper snatch Bugzy, a year-old Yorkie, near Ferry Point Park on Saturday, January 16. Comment.

P.S. 178 parent Naomi Gonzalez suspended her lawsuit against the city Department of Education and School Construction Authority on Tuesday, January 19 as the DOE promised the federal Environmental Protection Agency that it would perform a million dollar pilot study of air, soil and caulk at five schools and develop a plan to address PCB contamination. Comment.

Call it the Metropolitan Transit Authority switcharoo. The Bx4 and Bx34 buses dodged an axe on Friday, January 22 but the MTA announced plans to kick Bx18 bus straphangers to the curb. Comment.

HOPE is DHS’ annual, one-night survey of individuals living on city streets. Comment.

The dastardly duo that robbed senior homeowners in Zerega, Pelham Bay and Throggs Neck in 2009 is still on the loose. They hit Pelham Bay again on Tuesday, January 12. Comment.

City Island resident Rosemarie Dietz has relived the night of Tuesday, January 19 a thousand times. Comment.

A court battle between neighbors on Casler Place in Throggs Neck opened in December, as Bronx Supreme Court Judge Edward Walker commented on the fence and seawall dispute. Comment.

A group home for the developmentally disabled slated for Waterbury Estates won’t open after a successful year and a half fight against the plan. Comment.

The aftermath of the third Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) public hearing on a proposed Astor Avenue medical facility has neighbors concerned. Comment.

The 52nd Precinct has added six new Impact Response Team police officers and should add another 14 soon, D’Adamo said. His precinct will then boast 58 Impact cops and 314 total. Comment.

This burglar chose the wrong house to mess with. Comment.

When sun filters through the Depression-era skylights at 349 E. 140th Street, Bronx men and women gather to perform Reiki, meditate and stay drug-free. Comment.

Police are in search two men who stole $300,000 in diamonds and valuables from a Morris Park jewelry store on Tuesday, December 22 at 12:14 p.m. Comment.

Children living in Homes for the Homeless’ shelter on Kelly Street are hundreds of books richer thanks to the generosity of Kumon Math & Reading Centers, the world’s largest after-school education company. Comment.

A crowded question and answer session with Praxis Housing Initiatives in Wakefield on Thursday, January 7 resulted in more questions than answers. Praxis suggested that it establish an advisory board for its proposed 60-unit White Plains Road permanent supportive housing development but neighborhood leaders remain anxious. Comment.

Mama Maria restaurant has new owners, a new look and will soon boast a new name: 900Park. The remodeled restaurant includes a lounge that offers finger foods like nachos and wings. Comment.

Jeff Scheck makes his living behind the wheel of an Isuzu truck and ads are his only cargo. Comment.

Merchant leaders and Business Improvement District executive directors are breathing a sigh of relief. The Department of Transportation has backed away from an idea to tax the groups that fly colorful banners from utility poles to attract shoppers. Comment.

The Bx4 and Bx34 buses dodged the Metropolitan Transportation Authority axe on Friday, January 22. The Bx14 bus remains in danger but the MTA has plans to keep Country Club and Spencer Estate linked to the rest of the Bronx. Comment.

Bronx Supreme Court Judge Geoffrey Wright has tossed Westchester Square business owners and residents to the curb. On Tuesday, January 19, Wright dismissed demands that the Department of Homeless Services shutter its homeless shelter on St. Peter’s Avenue. Comment.

The Bronx boasts an enormous wastewater treatment plant in Hunts Point. Soon the borough will also boast a gigantic water filtration plant, in Van Cortlandt Park. But Hunts Point and Van Cortlandt Park sit more than seven miles apart. Comment.

The Castle Hill Senior Center hosted its annual Three Kings Day celebration on the feast day of the Epiphany on Wednesday, January 6. Comment.

In two decades as a clergyman, Rev. Nathanael Saint-Pierre has never worked so many hours, consoled so many congregants, seen so many tears. Saint-Pierre heads the Haitian Congregation of the Good Samaritan Episcopal Church on E. 219th Street in the Bronx and has led the borough’s response to the earthquake that devastated Haiti on Tuesday, January 12. Comment.

Hundreds of parents joined elected officials at Cardinal Spellman High School on Thursday, January 14 to pressure New York State to reimburse Bronx Catholic schools for mandated attendance and health services. Comment.

Police apprehended an alleged burglar who took a shot at a Pierce Avenue homeowner in hot pursuit. Comment.

Bronx Africans made history on Wednesday, January 13, when Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. joined immigrant leaders to launch the Bronx African Advisory Council. No parallel institution exists in the United States, let alone in New York City, Islamic Cultural School principal and Gambia-born Senegalese immigrant Sheikh Moussa Drammeh said. Comment.

Tick, tock, it don’t stop. Subway countdown clocks are on test at five stations in the Bronx. The clocks, operational underground at the Brook Avenue, Cypress Avenue, E. 143rd Street – St. Mary’s Street, E. 149th Street and Longwood #6 IRT Pelham Bay line stations, display the number of minutes before the next two trains arrive and additional transit information, such as messages about delays. Comment.

Police and clergy will attempt to reproduce the success of 2009’s gun buy-back on Saturday, January 23. Minus the grenade, perhaps. Comment.

Brazen burglars bagged thousands of dollars of computer and video game equipment from the Eastchester Gardens Community Center late on Wednesday, December 30. Comment.

A report released by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign on Wednesday, January 6 confirmed what most Bronx residents already know: E. Gun Hill Road, the Grand Concourse and Broadway are deadly thoroughfares for pedestrians. Comment.

When a fire looks like arson, smells like arson and occurs a month removed from another fire on the same block… Comment.